ROCK HILL, S.C. — Police are investigating after a shooting killed two people and sent two others to the hospital in Rock Hill on Saturday. A person who was at the party told WCNC Charlotte "it felt like a war zone."
It happened during a neighborhood block party on Southland Drive, which is near the intersection of Albright Road and Mt. Holly Road.
Just after 10 p.m., officers in the area heard several gunshots coming from the party.
More officers came and found the bodies of two shooting victims, 44-year-old Montest Mincey and 21-year-old Maricus Kirk. The two were pronounced dead at the scene.
A third victim, who is a 25-year-old woman, was treated at the scene after being shot. Later, police said a 24-year-old man showed up at a nearby hospital with "a minor gunshot graze wound he stated occurred while at Southland Drive."
A person who attended the party, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they saw people wearing ski masks.
"Out of the blue, everyone just started running and when everyone started running it felt like I was a deer being hunted," the person said. "I ran from one side, and when I finally got to the other side, they started shooting from the other side.”
They said they felt all they could do now was lay down and pray. They described the scene as "chaos," noting seeing phones on the ground, flip flops and bullets. The person said everyone was screaming.
“It felt like a war zone," the person said. "There was shooting coming from every way.”
Officers diverted traffic in response to the shooting, not allowing anyone into the Southland Park neighborhood.
"When I finally did get out and finally got in my car and made it out safely and stuff, I just felt grateful," the person who attended the party said. "There are people lying on the ground, and I’m in my car blessed to be able to drive off.”
They said it was their first and last time going to that block party.
Tara Sartain lives in the neighborhood, and while she said she didn't go to the block party, she noted the neighborhoods in the area are "close-knit."
“This type of thing doesn’t really happen in Rock Hill," Sartain said. "Whereas maybe you’re expecting something like this every night in Charlotte, or every week. This is like once every couple of years, and everyone feels it.”
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who has information is asked to contact police.
"It can be a tornado that happened two blocks from your house -- you’re thankful that you weren’t there, but you also know someone just lost a family member," Sartain said. "It impacts the whole community when something like this happens.”
Contact Anna King at aking2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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